


Scoring My Heart

by orphan_account



Category: Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Coming Out, Heartache, Love, M/M, Manchester United, Need, Pain, athletic au, footy captain!louis, future-ish au, harry is 22, harry liam and zayn are still a band, harry thinks louis is the sun, louis has a secret, louis is 24, louis thinks harry is naive but adorable, sorry for all the tags, there will be smut eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-07 01:57:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1114184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>football AU in which Louis is the openly-gay captain of Manchester United with a (seemingly) bright future and Harry is still in a boyband but he's just come out to the world at the age of 22 and he's afraid and so is Louis and nothing good should come out of their friendship but it does. There's laughter, struggle, and heartache, but there's also a tidal wave if love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a friendship is just beginning

Harry was definitely  _not_  moping. He was just...relaxing in his flat during his time off. He had plenty of food and everything in his flat was working, so there was really no need for him to leave, anyways. At least, that is what he told himself when he spent the next week after coming out in an interview hidden away in his flat completely alone. He did check twitter every morning, and he saw all the fans that supported him (and even a lot that continuously tweeted him "I KNEW IT"), and he saw the very few that were not supportive, and he could handle that, really, but he was not sure that he was ready for more cameras than usual (especially because after six years with the band people cared a whole lot less) flashing in his face and shooting question after question and throwing homophobic slurs in his face, because it honestly was the older paparazzi that were the least mature after all of this.

However, Liam and Zayn had shown up at his door with pity in their eyes, ready to drag Harry out of his flat by his toes if needed. He was too tired to fight, however, so the toe dragging was not needed. Zayn and Liam sandwiched Harry underneath their arms as they walked out of the flat and down the street towards a small coffee place on the corner (perks of being together for 6 years - most people in London were kind of used to them roaming the streets, and the coffee shop workers were used to them coming in all of the time). It was a little awkward, walking down the street like that, since Harry was a few inches taller than both of them and had to crouch over to make their arms more comfortable around his neck. The shop was nearly empty, only a girl wiping down the counter and someone curled around their laptop at a table in the corner in sweats, glasses clamped in his fist. The girl looks up from cleaning at the sound of the sound of the bell, her nameplate glinting in the glow of the late winter sun. She drops the rag under the counter and smiles at them, her eyes flicking over to the man in the corner, who seems to be ignoring their presence.

"The usual for you boys today?" she chirps, attention turned back to the three of them.

"Uh, yea, thanks," Zayn mumbles, trying to ignore how Harry ran straight for a table before getting his coffee.

Harry ignores the annoyance in Zayn's voice and just stares at the back of the man in the corner, sure that he recognizes him from  _somewhere_. He doesn't even flinch when Zayn places his warm coffee in front of him, just wraps a hand around it and continues his contemplation.

"Louis!" the counter girl sighs, and the man jumps, nearly dropping his glasses. "You've been sitting like that for over an hour, you  _have_  to be uncomfortable.

And suddenly, Harry knows, and it's proved when there is a sigh and Louis turns around, looks the girl dead in the eye and rolls his back, and the silence of the shop is broken when probably every bone from his neck to his lower back pops.

It's  _Louis Tomlinson_ , captain of the Manchester United Football Club, and Harry's ultimate man-crush for the past four years - ever since Louis joined the team. Well, just crush, he supposes, since he is gay and everything.

And so while Louis smiles, Zayn laughs, and Liam and the girl at the counter looks grossed out, Harry just watches. Watches Louis' eyes crinkle, watches him push his glasses on, watches how his cheeks almost dimple as he tries not to laugh alongside Zayn.

"You're Louis Tomlinson," he finally blurts.

"Yes, and you're Harry Styles," Louis smiles, "and Liam Payne and Zayn Malik. But glad you noticed."

Harry smiles at him maybe just a bit to brightly, but he doesn't seem to care and just smiles back before dropping himself back into his seat. And Harry himself must drop off to sleep, because the next thing he knows Louis is standing above him, shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, they're closing, we gotta go."

"Hm, oh, yea okay. Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet, I told Liam and Zayn i would make sure you made it back to your flat alright."

Harry nods and follows Louis out the door, thankful that his back is facing him so he can't see the blush the creeps up his cheeks. He pushes the blush aside and steps next to Louis, leading the way towards his flat. They get there rather quickly - too quickly, Harry thinks, especially because neither talked the entire way - and Harry stops at the edge of the carpark and talks before he can think.

"Wanna come in?"

Louis stays silent, aside from a giggle that escapes his lips.

"Not, like, for - I mean, I just think I remember that once you said in some interview that your own house got lonely sometimes and I don't know you were at the coffee shop all day so I just figured maybe you didn't want to be alone and sometimes m'not really a fan of being alone either so I just figured maybe you just wanted to come in and just eat or something but I mean you don't have to I know-"

"Harry."

"Oh, uhm, yes?"

"I'd love to."

"Good."

Harry thinks this is the most he has ever blushed in one day. And true to his word, after Harry nearly drags Louis up to his flat, he shows him to the couch, points to the DVD case, and practically runs to change into something more comfortable. By the time he gets back into the living room with three bowls of popcorn (plain, extra butter, and salted; since he didn't know what one Louis would want and didn't feel like asking) Louis is curled up in the corner of the couch, feet tucked in between the couch cushions and the sleeves of his sweatshirt pulled up over his hands. He was biting at his nail, but seemed otherwise at ease, eyes flicking around the room every once in a while. Once he noticed Harry standing in the doorway he dropped his hand, small smile appearing across his face. His eyes are tired, and Harry has the feeling that Louis is probably going to wake up in the morning sprawled across Harry's couch.

Harry likes that they've only just met but Louis already looks like he fits in. Likes that he made himself right at home, likes that he felt comfortable enough to hang out with someone he has only just met. Harry likes a lot of things about Louis, and he can already feel himself falling for the blue eyed boy curled up on his couch, and he knows that he should be careful and make sure he keeps enough distance, stop himself from wanting to  _touch_. But instead of putting his racing thoughts to good use, he place the bowls of popcorn on the table in front of them, grabs the remote and drops down right next to Louis, pulling his feet up so their thighs are pressed close and their shoulders are bumping. He expects Louis to try to slide away, but instead he sinks lower into the couch and leans into Harry's side, dropping his head on Harry's shoulder but keeping his eyes trained on the TV.

And it is in that moment, right then and there, that Harry realizes that Louis is everything he ever wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been six days since the coffee shop, six days since Louis fell asleep under Harry's arm and Harry followed soon after, and five days since Harry woke up twisted on his couch, alone and with no trace of Louis ever having been by his side. If you asked Harry about how he felt that morning, he would tell you he was fine. He would say that he never really expected Louis to stay the whole night, anyways, because they had only just met. But if you asked Liam and Zayn, they would tell you that they thought getting Harry out of his flat would ave made him felt better but that it seems to have done the opposite. They would tell you how he rarely even leaves his room, never mind his flat; at least not when anyone is around him.

Even so, it's Saturday and there is a Manchester United game on television and while Harry is not paying attention to who they are playing, Zayn and Liam have dragged him out to the living room (when they came in the shower was running, so they stood outside the door of the bathroom and made sure Harry did not go back to his room) where they already have the game on, but the entire time all Harry can notice is that fact that Louis has yet to play - and  _okay_ , so Harry definitely should not pay this much more attention than usual after one chance encounter. But still, Louis has been sat on the bench the whole time and Harry just wants to know why. And when they zoom in on Louis during halftime, he can see the reason. Louis' entire left leg is in a brace, keeping his leg straight with just a small opening around his knee, where Harry can see the black and blue coloring of it.

~*~

There is a knock on the door to Harry's flat at around ten the next morning, while Harry is sitting on his counter eating scrambled eggs for breakfast. He has only recently gotten out of the shower, as well, so the tips of his hair are still dripping onto his bare shoulders and he should probably throw a shirt on before he opens the door but to be honest he's at the point where nearly everyone in the entire world has seen him shirtless so he just unlocks the door and pulls it open.

"Louis?"

"Uhm, hi."

"Hi...can I, uh, help you with something?"

Louis opens his mouth to answer, but before anything can come out a thick Irish accent yells down the hall.

"TOMMO!"

Louis looks down the hall and laughs before a rush of blonde - Niall Horan, defender of Manchester United FC - runs into the doorway.

"Hi, I'm Niall, and I should warn you know that Louis may be in a cast but he still runs as fast as a bloody cheetah. But, glad you're home because you're watching Louis today because the team still has practice that Louis can obviously not participate in."

"I am?"

"Yes."

Louis rolls his eyes and turns back to face Harry.

"He thinks I need a babysitter. I think the fact that I got up here faster than he did speaks for itself."

"You told me there was no lift!" Niall interrupts.

"You believed me. So can I come in?"

Harry just yawns and steps aside, letting Louis hobble in on his crutches. He isn't quite sure when it was decided that this - whatever "this" is - became something they did, especially because they only met a week ago and only hung out for like two hours, but he's kinda glad because that means he gets to learn more about Louis and figure out if this little blossoming crush isn't just him being creepy (plus, after the game yesterday he's wanted to ask Louis what happened). But before Harry can ask anything Louis turns and looks him in the eyes and speaks for him.

"Please, don't ask what happened, okay? It was stupid and I really don't feel like talking about it right now."

Harry sighs but agrees anyways, nodding before walking back to the kitchen to finish his breakfast. Louis just drops himself on the couch, crutches dropping to the floor and by the time Harry finishes his eggs and puts a shirt on, Louis is fast asleep already. Harry just grabs his book off the counter and lifts Louis' legs, curling up in the seat and dropping them on his lap, elbows resting on his calves and book propped by his feet. And when Louis wakes up forty-five minutes later and bends his (good) knee to slip his foot under Harry's thigh, neither of them say a word. Harry can feel Louis' eyes on him, watching as his eyes flicker across the page and his right hand holds the next page loosely between his thumb and forefinger, ready to turn the page. He finially reaches the end of the chapter he was on and folds the corner of the page, slipping it onto the armrest and dropping his hand to rub circles on Louis' ankle with his thumb. It's Louis who eventually breaks the silence.

"Thank you. And sorry, you know, for the other day. Not waking you up to let you know I was leaving, I mean. It's just that my internal clock usually wakes me up at like nine but I haven't gotten much sleep so by the time I woke up it was eleven and I had to be at practice a half hour later so."

"You don't owe me an explanation."

"I know."

"Okay."

Harry glances quickly behind him towards the kitchen before twisting Louis and standing up, reaching down and pulling Louis up as well. He spins around and bends his knees a bit so he is more Louis' height before:

"Jump up."

Louis laughs but obliges, hooking his left leg around Harry's left arm while Harry wrapped his right arm under Louis' right thigh. He carries him into the kitchen and sets him down on the counter, right where he was just sat to eat breakfast and hour earlier, before walking to the cupboard and pulling out a cake mix and some chocolate frosting. Louis says nothing, just cracks the eggs that Harry hands over into the bowl he placed on the counter and slices open the bag of cake mix with the scissors from behind him. Harry switches the radio on and they hum along, Harry spinning and dancing to the beat every once in a while and Louis tries very hard not to laugh. They (Harry) clean while the cake bakes, and when it's done Harry frosts it and Louis sticks his finger in the chocolate and smears it across Harry's face and Harry glares at him and wipes it off with his hand and finished the cake, drawing an H and an L on the top with the knife. And when he turns it towards Louis and looks up Louis laughs because Harry got a huge slash of frosting across his nose so Louis tugs on Harry's arm to get him to step closer and as he wipes at Harry's face with his sleeve Harry realizes just how deep Louis' eyes seem, just how much information they hold - especially up so close. And as he watches Louis clean his face so carefully, Harry really just wants to lean forward and lick into his mouth.

And hey, why not?


	3. Chapter 3

And so he does; he leans forward and doesn't say a thing and just sucks on Louis' lips, wrapping his arms around his waist as he pulls him close and ignores the clatter of as the metal crutches hit the ground when Louis twists his fingers into Harry's hair. And it probably should be weird - really weird considering that they barely know a thing about each other but it's not. All Harry could think was how they slide together like two pieces of a puzzle, and he doesn't care how cliché it sounds because that was how it felt, how he felt. And with one last tug on Louis' lower lip, he pulls away and let's his arms fall, and then "Shit, Harry!" and Harry is really glad slipping across the stage some too many times has left him with good reflexes or Louis would have ended up with even more bruises than he started with. But he catches Louis and Louis lets out a string of giggles and it's all okay, and Harry swoops back in to nudge at Louis' nose before dragging him to the living room to curl up on the couch. It should be so, so weird, but it's not and Harry is happy. And when Louis has to head home at the end of the day, Harry is still smiling and Louis just laughs while Harry presses their lips together to say goodbye and Harry is happy. And it's the most Louis has smiled in far too long, so; Louis is pretty happy, too. But they know that it really can't become a thing; Harry is always traveling, a lot in the Western Hemisphere, and Louis travels in the opposite direction. It can't become a thing, it probably shouldn't become a thing, but right now Harry and smiling and Louis is smiling and they're friends and that's good enough. They could both use some gay friends (ones their age and that they actually enjoy being around, at least). So maybe now they will know a bit more about each other than most friends do (a.k.a. how good of a kisser the other is), but so what?

**a/n the rest of the chapters are going to be shorter like this one, but there will be more of them than I originally planned :)**


	4. Chapter 4

So Harry really wants Louis. Wants to hug him and kiss him and cuddle him and smile at him and _love_ him and he really doesn't care that he shouldn't because he really likes Louis and he would really like to be able to love him, too. He knows they've only just met, but he likes that he isn't nervous to send off a good morning text to Louis every day, and he smiles when Louis sends him a kissy-fave emoji at the end of each day. They haven't physically seen each other in almost two weeks (unless you count snapchat selfies in the middle of the night), but they make sure to get in touch somehow everyday, and Harry has never laughed as much as he does with Louis. Louis means a lot to Harry already and that is the only thing Harry is worried about. He doesn't want to get too attached when he doesn't know if Louis would ever just walk out of his life, but he really hopes he never will. So if things have to stay like this, then Harry is okay with that. He can deal with just being friends that kiss. Can't he?

~

Louis wants to tell Harry, he really does. After their day together, after their kiss, Louis knows he wants to spend more time with Harry, find out what he's like when he drunk, or tired, or angry, or excited, or hungry, or totally and completely _fucked_. But in order to do that, Harry needs to know that sometimes it gets hard to break Louis out if his shell because he goes through a lot. He wants to tell him, he really does, but he doesn't want Harry asking any questions. He goes through a lot and he wishes he could tell someone but he doesn't want to lose everything he has worked so hard to get. His position on the team, his friends, and most likely Harry. Louis is breaking.


End file.
